A Dumping Ground Christmas!
by Fanatic1234
Summary: Jody is unable to get into the Christmas spirit, and her friends are determined to find out why, especially when things start to go wrong and Jody becomes prime suspect...
1. What's Wrong With Jody?

**So I've got a new Christmas story, like I did last year. Enjoy!**

* * *

Jody Jackson sat miserably in her room reading a book, as the sound of Christmas classics rung in her ears giving her a headache. She wasn't feeling festive yet, and wondered if she'd feel festive at all this year. Yes, she was excited for the annual Dumping Ground Christmas Day feast, but other than that, the mere thought of Christmas made her feel sick to the stomach. She heard footsteps pounding up the stairs, and the excited chatter between Floss and Finn, and Jody worked out that they were decorating the banister with tinsel - why did they have to have such an obsession with the retched stuff!  
"Jody, don't open the door, we're putting some Christmas stickers and tinsel on it." Floss announced from the corridor.  
"No you're not, go away!" Jody shouted, kicking the door.  
"You're such a bah humbug!" Floss yelled, as Jody heard her footsteps get quieter and quieter. She laid back down on her bed and picked her book back up to begin reading again, when suddenly, there was another knock on her door.  
"Don't even think about putting any decorations on my door." Jody warned, but the door opened instead.  
"Wouldn't dream of it!" Tyler laughed, entering the room.  
"What do you want?" Jody sighed, sitting up and putting her book down again. "Oh, and turn that music down when you go downstairs, it's making me feel sick."  
"Why are you being such a Scrooge this year? You love Christmas!" Tyler asked.  
"I'm just not feeling festive yet." Jody told her best friend.  
"Fair enough. But you're usually begging for the tree to go up on the first of December." Tyler pointed out.  
"Well...I've grown up a bit, I guess." Jody said, picking her book back up again.  
"At least put the star on the tree! You're name was chosen this year! You should've seen Floss' face." Tyler said.  
"You can do it." Jody said, a slight sadness to her voice. Tyler frowned in concern.  
"Are you okay?" He asked.  
"Fine!" Jody snapped. "Sorry. It's just, I'm at a really good place in my book."  
"I'll leave you to it then. I'll bring you up a mince pie once Kazima's finished making them. They smell delicious!" Tyler said, about to leave.  
"Thanks, but I'm not hungry." Jody said, now fully engrossed in her book again.  
"Can I have yours then?" Tyler asked hopefully.  
"Go for it." Jody said, barely listening. Tyler left Jody's room, closing the door behind him, still confused about Jody. She was the most festive person in the house! Usually, it was hard to calm her down at this time of year. But she seemed so down in the dumps lately, and he'd noticed this ever since Tee and Carmen had left barely three weeks ago. But Jody hadn't been that close with either of them - had she? As far as Tyler was concerned, she should've been more than happy to see Carmen gone! But Jody was very stubborn, and so Tyler would probably never know what was making Jody so un-merry.  
"Did you find out what's wrong with Jody?" Mo asked, as Tyler came down the stairs. He was busy decorating the office door as a surprise for Mike when he got back from doing his Christmas shopping.  
"Nope." Tyler answered. "This is so unlike her though!"  
"Yeah, this is really out of character for Jody. Maybe if we put the lights up outside and do the big switch-on tonight she'll get into the Christmas spirit." Mo suggested.  
"Yeah, good thinking." Tyler said, turning the music down as Jody had requested.  
"What are you doing?" Mo frowned.  
"Jody said it was making her feel sick." Tyler responded. Him and Mo then shared a glance.  
"Yeah, we've _definitely_ got to find out what's going on with her, Jody usually loves Christmas music! Maybe we should ask Bailey to help?" Mo said thoughtfully.  
"I'm not sure. He still seems pretty mad at Jody about the whole thief thing." Tyler said, thinking back to three weeks ago, the day Tee and Carmen had left, when this whole thing had begun, as he remembered the disaster Jody found herself in at the end of it all.  
"Well, it can't hurt to ask, come on!" Mo said, leading the way to the living room where Bailey was sat on the sofa watching everyone decorate the tree.  
"Not helping then?" Mo asked, sitting next to Bailey.  
"Nah, I'd ruin it." Bailey commented.  
"Anyway, we need your help with something." Tyler informed Bailey.  
"What?" Bailey asked.  
"Well, Jody's been..."  
"Nah, I'm not helping if this is to do with _her_." Bailey said, cutting Mo off, before getting up to leave.  
"Wait." Tyler exclaimed, as him and Mo jumped up to follow him.  
"I've already told you, it's her fault everyone's stuff got ruined. And she almost killed you." Bailey explained, turning to leave again.  
"But she's paying it back - she's taken on so many extra chores! And plus, it was my choice to go into the flat, she didn't make me." Tyler pointed out. Bailey let out a long breath, turning to Mo.  
"You're not gonna give up, are you?" He asked, sounding slightly annoyed.  
"Nope." Mo replied.  
"Fine then, I'll help find out what's up with..." But Bailey was cut off by the girl herself walking through the living room. Once Jody had disappeared into the kitchen, the three boys shared a glance before following her. They saw Jody begin to wash up the remains of Kazima's cooking equipment.  
"That's okay Jody, I can do that later." Kazima smiled.  
"Don't worry, Kaz. Just make sure Mike knows that it was me." Jody told Kazima.  
"Okay." Kazima frowned in confusion, before leaving.  
"You don't have to do everyone's chores you know." Mo pointed out.  
"I know, but the sooner I get enough money, the sooner I can replace your lava lamp and everyone else's stuff." Jody explained, focused on the washing up.  
"Well, at least let us help you." Tyler said.  
"No, it's okay. I feel bad about what happened, it was all my fault, and now I need to pay everybody back for my mistake." Jody explained to her friends.  
"But, you're taking this way too far!" Mo exclaimed.  
"Yeah. And I offered to give you some of the money towards everyone's stuff." Tyler said.  
"Yeah but you didn't do anything wrong. I don't see why you should have to use your money to replace the things that I ruined." Jody told Tyler.  
"Because you're my best friend. And anyway, what happened wasn't your fault." Tyler reassured her.  
"I lit the candles." Jody pointed out.  
"Yeah, but you were just trying to make everything perfect." Tyler said.  
"And look how that turned out." Jody mumbled, but Mo, Tyler and Bailey still heard her.  
"If you're not feeling Christmassy because you're worried about paying everybody back, then now isn't the time to worry about that. Everyone will understand." Tyler reassured her.  
"That's not why I'm not feeling festive yet." Jody snapped. "Look, I really don't want to talk about this anymore. Can you please just let me get on with this?" She pleaded. The boys shared a glance.  
"Sure." Mo said, turning to leave into the living room, with Bailey and Tyler close behind.  
"Thanks for the help Bailey." Mo commented sarcastically.  
"What did you want me to say?" Bailey snapped.  
"Anything really." Mo shrugged.  
"Look, it doesn't matter now. All that matters is getting Jody back. And I think you were right Mo - we need to get the lights up ready for the switch-on tonight." Tyler explained. So the three boys put on their coats and headed to the shed to start on the outside lights, thinking that this would cheer Jody up and put her in a festive mood. They were concerned about what was making her so un-festive, but promised themselves that they would get to the bottom of it before Christmas Eve.

* * *

 **Surprise! So lately I've been planning and working on a DG Christmas FF like I did last year. This is set directly after the end of series 4, so this FF will include the new characters Joseph (I think that's his name!) and the other new boy who's name I don't know. Also, let me know your thoughts on this story and on series 4, part 2 of the DG! This story has a slight mystery aspect to it as well, so if you like that, then hopefully you'll enjoy this story! If anyone knows if it is/isn't returning for a new series please let me know of that too because I am desperate for new episodes in the new year! Also, thanks** **for reading! This story will be exploring the friendship between Jody and Tyler, because I feel like this topic was shown really well in s4p2e6 and s4p2e10, and hopefully I will explore Mo and Baileys friendship, which was touched on in s4p2e3. I am very upset that Tee and Carmen have left (I actually cried)! The upload schedule for this wil be whenever I write it, and I don't know if I will write any of this story to be set after Christmas, but I feel like I may not finish it before Christmas anyway! I have pretty much a whole weekend next week though in which I can write for you!**

 **I'll stop ranting now, since I've already spoken for way too long, but I've been gone forever, so we need to catch up on the new series of TDG!**

 **Also, I wanna know something; does anyone here actually like ship Jody and Tyler?**

 **Also, to my 'Lottery' readers who most likely all hate me, the next chapter is coming along, although may be on pause for a little bit while I work on this, but I figured you'd want something festive to read over your Christmas break or to de-stress from Christmas shopping!**

 **I'M ACTUALLY GOING NOW I'LL SEE YOU VERY SOON! I'VE LOVED WRITING THIS SO FAR SO EXPECT MORE SOON!**

 **~ Fanatic1234**


	2. The Mince Pie Shenanigan

Tyler, Mo and Bailey found the festive lights towards the back of the shed. Tyler and Bailey positioned the lights at the front of the house whilst Mo worked out where they needed to be plugged into to make them work. They hadn't seen Jody since she'd been in the kitchen earlier, washing up Kazima's baking equipment. The three boys were about halfway through putting up the lights when they heard Mike call them inside and into the kitchen. To their surprise, everyone else in the house was there, looking just as confused as they did.  
"Does anybody know anything about this?" Mike asked, pointing down at Kazima's tray of mince pies, which were all burnt to a crisp. Meanwhile, May-Li continued to flap a towel at the fire alarm, which was sounding loudly throughout the house. Everybody continued to look puzzled.  
"Kaz spent a long time making these for everybody to enjoy, so whoever sabotaged them had better step forward, or if anyone knows anything, come and see me in the office." Mike explained.  
"Why are you blaming us? Kaz might've put the oven on too high!" Bailey asked.  
"I was out here when Kaz put them in the oven. The oven was on the right temperature and the timer was set for 10 minutes then, so someone must've changed it." May-Li said.  
"I want to know what happened by the end of the day please." Mike said, turning to leave.  
"Wait!" Bailey called after him.  
"What?" Mike questioned, turning to face everyone again.  
"Jody was out here when the mince pies were cooking. She could've easily changed the timer so they cooked for longer." Bailey accused  
"Bailey!" Tyler exclaimed.  
"You saw me doing the washing up!" Jody defended herself.  
"Yeah, but as soon as we left, you could've tampered with the timer, and it wouldn't surprise me considering that you took everyone's stuff only three weeks ago." Bailey said.  
"I'm trying to pay everyone back, not sabotage them more!" Jody shouted.  
"Well then what about the fact that you've been a bah-humbug all day then?" Bailey pointed out.  
"Jody?" Mike asked seriously.  
"No one's gonna believe me anyway! No one _ever_ believes _me_!" Jody exclaimed, before storming out of the kitchen, which was followed by a loud slam of her door from upstairs. Everyone gradually left the kitchen.  
"Well done Bailey!" Mo snapped.  
"You know what Mike's like, everyone would've been punished, and I'm not missing out on my Christmas because she's selfish." Bailey told his friends.  
"Jody's one of the good guys now. Yes, she took people's stuff, which was wrong, but we've all forgiven her for that, and she's trying really hard to pay everyone back." Tyler explained.  
"Look, you said yourself that Jody hasn't been acting how she normally would. Taking people's things was bad enough, but ruining Christmas is a whole new level of selfish." Bailey commented.  
"She's not selfish! Jody would never do anything like that!" Tyler said.  
"Then how do you explain this; you tell Jody Kaz is making mince pies, and she comes downstairs, even though she hasn't been down all day. She then asks us to leave her alone, and Kaz's mince pies are ruined." Bailey pointed out. Tyler was silent.  
"Look, it doesn't matter whether Jody did or didn't ruin Kaz's mince pies. She can make some more! We need to focus on getting the lights ready for tonight to lift Jody's spirt, come on!" Mo said, leading the way out of the kitchen and back round to the front of the house to continue putting the lights up.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jody lay in her room, fists clenched, when there was a knock on the door.  
"Leave me alone!" She called.  
"It's only me." Mike said, coming in.  
"Go away." Jody said sadly, sitting up on her bed.  
"Not until I get to the bottom of this mince pie incident." Mike said, taking a seat on Jody's bed.  
"It wasn't me!" Jody yelled.  
"Look, you won't be in any trouble. Kaz can always make some more later, but the point is that she spent a long time making them perfect for everyone to enjoy, and it wasn't the kindest thing to do to ruin them." Mike explained.  
"I didn't ruin anything!" Jody defended.  
"Just between you and me. I won't even tell Tyler it was you if you don't want me to." Mike told Jody.  
"I didn't do anything. I know I'm not exactly in the 'festive' mood, but that doesn't mean I'd sabotage Kaz's mince pies." Jody said, trying to keep calm.  
"Look, Jody if you just admit it to me now, then I'll pretend this conversation never happened." Mike said softly.  
"It. Wasn't. _Me_!" Jody shouted. "If anyone's supposed to believe me, it's you Mike!" Jody said sadly, laying back down again. Figuring there was no use in forcing Jody to talk, Mike left her to it. But he decided to talk to her later, as he was growing more and more worried about the way she'd been acting lately.

* * *

"All good?" Mo asked, taking a step back from the house with Bailey and Tyler.  
"Perfect. Everything's straight and the electricity works on all of them this time!" Tyler exclaimed, high-5ing his friends before all three of them headed indoors.  
"I might try and talk to Jody about what happened, I'll see you later." Tyler said, before heading up the stairs to Jody's room.  
"Go away." She replied once Tyler had knocked on the door. From her voice, Tyler could tell she was upset.  
"Look, I know it wasn't you who ruined the mince pies. So does Mo." Tyler told his friend.  
"Really?" Jody asked, slightly brighter, as she opened the door to let Tyler inside.  
"Of course! You might not be feeling Christmassy, but you're not _that_ much of a kill-joy!" Tyler exclaimed.  
"Thanks. But who could've done it?" Jody asked.  
"Well, when did you leave the kitchen after you'd done the washing up?" Tyler questioned thoughtfully.  
"Um...about five minutes after you left. There was only a couple of bits to sort out since Kaz had already started." Jody explained.  
"Was she in the kitchen when you got there?"  
"Yeah, she was. And she only left when I came in. Wow, I can really see why I'm getting the blame now!" Jody said, sitting down on her bed.  
"Don't worry - we'll clear your name. We just have to work out who could've gone into the kitchen after you left." Tyler reassured her.  
"Okay - but anyone could've come into the kitchen after I left and changed the timer!" Jody said exasperatedly.  
"Let's just leave it - I'll tell Mike that I was with you the whole time or something. You coming to the switch-on tonight?" Tyler asked. Jody looked thoughtful.  
"I'll come for the switch-on, but then I'm going in to read my book whilst it's quiet. I'll get a headache if I stay for the party." Jody told Tyler.  
"Oh, okay." Tyler said, slightly disheartened. But he supposed that once Jody was outside she'd want to stay for longer. He noticed that it was beginning to get darker.  
"Well, I'd best be helping Mike, Mo and Bailey outside getting ready for the party." Tyler told Jody. "You coming?"  
"Yeah, I'll do anything I can to help around here until I get enough to pay everyone back for their things!" Jody exclaimed.  
"Great, let's go!" Tyler exclaimed, and with that, the pair headed outside to set up for the big switch-on that evening.

* * *

 **Wow! Two updates in one week! I guess I'm really getting into this! And I have plans for the next chapter! Let me know if you like it so far, and thanks for reading! Feel free to follow if you enjoyed!**

 **~ Fanatic1234**


	3. The Big Switch-On

"The lights look great by the way." Jody said, as herself, Tyler, Mike, Mo and Bailey finally finished setting up the snacks and music for the big switch-on.  
"Thanks." Tyler smiled, as everyone from inside the house began to file outside ready for the switch-on.  
"Where's Archie, Finn and Ryan?" Mike asked.  
"Archie and Finn want to finish they're drawing and Ryan's in his room." Chloe answered.  
"Oh, is he alright?" Mike asked in concern.  
"Yeah, he's fine, he's just not got into the Christmas spirit." Chloe explained.  
"Alright, well then we'll make a start." Mike decided, but everybody had already made a start on the snacks, including a new batch of mince pies made by Kazima.  
"Okay everyone, it's time for me to switch on the lights!" Mike announced. Everybody quietened down and turned to face the house.  
"Okay, this year, we have Tyler, Bailey and Mo to thank for putting up the lights." Mike said. Everybody applauded the three boys.  
"And thanks to Kazima for not letting this afternoons incident get in the way of our celebrations." Mike continued, as everybody continued to clap.  
"Okay, let's all count down together." Mike suggested.  
"In 5...4...3...2...1..." Everyone cheered as the house burst into colour. There was an array of shapes including reindeer, trees, Santa, sleighs, bells, snowmen and many more.  
"We've really outdone ourselves this year!" May-Li whispered to My one as everyone continued to enjoy the snacks.  
"Definitely!" Mike agreed, putting on some Christmas music. Everyone began dancing and cheering and just generally enjoying the evening.  
"This has got to have made you feel festive, Jodes!" Tyler said, as himself and Jody helped themselves to snacks.  
"A bit." Jody shrugged. Tyler sighed - what more could he do to help her?  
"Well, at least stay out for a bit, enjoy it while it lasts." Tyler pleaded.  
"I would, but I'm really tired. Thanks though,mother lights are great. Goodnight!" Jody said, before turning and entering the house. Tyler sighed again, heading to join Mo and Bailey.  
"Any luck?" Mo asked.  
"Nope! What now?" Tyler asked. The boys looked thoughtful.  
"Everyone's writing their letters to Santa tomorrow." Mo pointed out. Tyler gave him a look.  
"Yeah, good point. Well how about we offer to help with her Christmas shopping?" Mo suggested.  
"Jody's super organised - she's done it all already." Tyler told Mo.  
"Well how about we-" Bailey started, but was cut off by darkness and silence in the garden. The three boys looked up to see all of the lights turned out, and the music had stopped.  
"What the?" Mike asked, stepped not inside the house, May-Li at his heels. He returned a few minutes later.  
"All of the powers out." He announced. Everyone groaned. In the doorway, Jody, Ryan, Finn and Archie appeared. They stepped outside to join the others.  
"And I went into the office to check out the problem and found that the whole power system had been switched off." Everyone gasped as Mike continued.  
"Now, whoever this is needs to own up now." At this point, Mike's eyes were fixed on Jody. "There will be consequences, especially after the mince pies this afternoon. And I can only assume it's the same person out to sabotage Christmas." Mike said sternly. Jody could feel everyone's eyes set on her.  
"Jody?" Mike asked.  
"It wasn't me, I swear I would never do anything like that - I wouldn't know how!" Jody said truthfully. However she was met by protests from everyone.  
"Quiet! Jody knows what's right, and she'll do what's right in the end." Mike said, stepping inside, everyone following behind him apart from Jody, Tyler and Mo.  
"Argh! Why don't they believe me! Even Mike doesn't believe me!" Jody complained.  
"Because the power was switched off right after you went inside." Mo pointed out. Jody shot a look at him.  
"Look, Mo and I know that this was nothing to do with you." Tyler reassured Jody. Mo nodded.  
"But the only problem is, we don't know who this _is_ to do with." He said.  
"Well, Christmas is going to be pretty miserable if everyone hates me for things I didn't do." Jody said, as herself, Tyler and Mo headed inside.  
"Everything will be fixed before Christmas, and that's a promise." Tyler said.  
"But what if-"  
"Everything." Tyler repeated.  
"Okay. But who do you think could've done it?" Jody asked. The three looked thoughtful, when suddenly, Mo gave a look of realisation.  
"Bingo!"

* * *

 **Sorry this wasn't up sooner, I've been unwell all weekend, when I planned to write and after that I was pretty busy! Christmas Eve tomorrow! This story will definitely have to continue after Christmas, and maybe into the new year slightly, which is a shame because it will ruin the mood of it. There are 8 chapters in total, I've got it all planned out, though they may be shorter than I originally planned.**

 **Thanks for reading, and see you soon! Lottery will be going again in the new year once this is over and I'm quite excited to pick it up again after pretty much a year of not updating it. Hang in there Lottery fans!**

 **~ Fanatic1234**


	4. Catching The Culprit

"Who had an alibi when the mince pies were destroyed?" Mo asked, as him, Jody, Tyler and Bailey were gathered in Tyler's bedroom just after the events of the evening.  
"No one, as far as we know." Tyler answered.  
"Who was inside when the power was turned out?" Mo questioned.  
"Me, Finn, Archie and Ryan." Jody responded.  
"And finally, who has a motive for spoiling everyone's fun?" Mo asked.  
"Ryan!" Bailey realised.  
"Exactly." Mo said.  
"But how do we prove it?" Tyler asked.  
"I've got a plan. If it works, there'll be no question that Ryan is to blame for all this." Mo explained.  
"What is it?" Jody questioned.  
"Tomorrow, we set a trap. Film Ryan in action." Mo told the others.  
"But how?" Bailey asked.  
"The younger kids are writing their letters to Santa tomorrow. I say we put them on the kitchen table, in plain sight, for Ryan to get his hands on and destroy." Mo explained.  
"Brilliant!" Jody exclaimed.  
"Right, it's getting late. Let's head to bed and finish our planning in the morning." Mo suggested, and with that, the four parted their separate ways.

* * *

The following morning, Mo, Jody, Tyler and Bailey met in Mo's room to discuss their plan.  
"I got this for my birthday. We can set it up in the kitchen right after we put the letters in there. Ryan won't even notice it." Mo said, holding up a small camera.  
"Good idea. But how do we know when to check up on the footage?" Bailey asked.  
"Well, we'll have to set it all up. Make sure he knows that the letters are in the kitchen, we make sure we know where he is and as soon as he disappears, we know where he is and we can find the footage." Mo explained.  
"Good idea." Tyler said, when suddenly, there was a cry from the living room followed by shouting for Mike. The four shared a look of concern, fearing that Ryan had struck again, and rushed down the stairs to the source of the sound. When the friends reached the doorway, they saw the Christmas tree flat on the ground, decorations sprawled across the floor, some smashed or broken. Floss, Finn, Archie, Joseph and the twins were stood before the tree.  
"Guys, get back, there's glass everywhere." Mike said, entering the living room to examine the mess as other residents appeared at the doorway.  
"You've gone too far this time Jody." Kazima said. "My mince pies were one thing, but the Christmas tree-"  
"Look, whoever is behind this needs to come forwards immediately." Mike demanded. Jody felt herself being pushed by other residents, mainly the younger ones who had decorated the now destroyed Christmas tree. She could even feel Mike glaring at her.  
"It wasn't me!" Jody cried.  
"We were with Jody all morning and she hasn't even been downstairs." Mo said, signalling to Tyler and Bailey, who nodded.  
"She could've done it in the night." Billie pointed out. Jody rolled her eyes and left the hallway, followed by Tyler, Mo and Bailey.  
"We need to get this cleared up - fast!" Jody said angrily.  
"As soon as they've written their letters we'll get the ball rolling with the plan." Mo told Jody, who nodded.  
"When do you think they'll do the letters?" Bailey asked.  
"Mike'll probably get them going after breakfast, to cheer them up about the tree." Mo answered.  
"Good thinking. And speaking of breakfast, I'm starving!" Tyler exclaimed.  
"Me too, come on." Jody said, and with that the four headed downstairs for breakfast.

* * *

"Right, got the plan?" Mo whispered, setting the letters, which had been put in envelopes on the table. The others nodded, as Bailey set up the camera, hitting the record button.  
"Guys, we've put your letters on the kitchen table." Tyler informed the younger children, ensuring he was in earshot of Ryan, who was also in the living room playing a game of pool with Kazima. Tyler, Jody, Bailey and Mo then left the living room and headed upstairs.  
"Give it fifteen minutes, then we'll go and check." Mo suggested. The others agreed, and fifteen minutes later, Jody went down to check that the letters had been destroyed, before returning to the others in Tyler's room.  
"He's done it, come on!" Jody said, and with that, the four headed downstairs to check the footage. Only they found no footage of Ryan on the video camera when they took it to Mike to prove Ryan's guilt.  
"If Ryan's so guilty, then how do you explain the fact that Jody is the only person in this video?" Mike asked, giving Jody and stern look.  
"What!" Jody exclaimed, getting a better look at the the camera. Sure enough, the video footage showed the envelopes, in perfectly good condition, and then ripped, with Jody stood right behind them.  
"Wait, Jody was with us the whole time, she never left our sight since we set up the camera!" Tyler said, very confused.  
"Apart from when she went to check that the letters were destroyed." Bailey said. The others gave him a look.  
"Jody? Are you going to confess now, because this really isn't looking good for you." Mike explained.  
"Confess? Did she finally admit that she's been ruining Christmas?" Floss asked. Upon hearing this, everyone joined Floss outside the office.  
"Guys, please just let me deal with this." Mike warned.  
"She was caught on video." Floss informed the others.  
"How much of our _private_ conversation did you listen to?" Mike asked Floss.  
"Pretty much all of it." Floss answered.  
"I can't believe you'd do that Jody, you used to be nice." Finn said.  
"Yeah!" The twins added.  
"That's enough guys." Mike said, shooing everyone away.  
"I swear Mike, it wasn't me." Jody said, but Mike shook his head.  
"You can't deny it anymore Jody, not now I've seen this." Mike told her. Jody groaned before leaving the office, her friends close behind. Jody knew that now, there was no where to hide. Everything pointed to her, and it was almost impossible to show her innocence.

* * *

 **Sorry this is quite late, but I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas! I know Christmas is now over, but I'm officially halfway done with this story and I'm hoping it'll be finished soon so I can get back to Lottery, since I kinda ditched it for like almost a year. Sorry about that! See you all soon (hopefully)!**

 **~ Fanatic1234**


	5. Red Herring?

Jody sat in her room feeling miserable. Why would Ryan want to ruin Christmas? Yeah, he sometimes struggled to get along with everyone, but when you're living with 12 other people, that can be very difficult. He hadn't been getting on well with Chloe lately either, but why would that drive him to spoil Christmas for everyone. She let out a sigh, and decided to find out whether Mo had got any further with the footage. It was only two days before Christmas Eve, and she definitely wanted her name cleared by then.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mo, Tyler and Bailey were sat in Mo's room playing the footage from the camera over to look for any hints.  
"I don't get it - how did Jody get on the camera?" Tyler asked.  
"It was still running when she went down to check whether the letters had been destroyed." Bailey pointed out.  
"True - but didn't she turn it off when she went down there? How come that wasn't in the footage?" Tyler asked.  
"That's actually a really good point - how come that wasn't in the footage?" Mo asked.  
"Perhaps the camera ran out of battery?" Bailey suggested.  
"Can't have done - we were able to show it to Mike." Tyler pointed out  
"Also, there's no footage of her actually destroying the letters - what happened to that?" Mo asked.  
"Look, maybe we're just looking way too far into this." Bailey said.  
"What do you mean?" Tyler questioned.  
"However the camera did or didn't get turned off, Jody's in the footage standing behind the letters." Bailey said.  
"Right." Tyler said.  
"So what if it's her all along?" Bailey suggested.  
"You think Jody's _actually_ doing this?" Tyler frowned.  
"You can't tell me that with the evidence we've found, she isn't at least a suspect." Bailey said.  
"I hate to say so, but Bailey _does_ have a point. What if it's Jody after all and she's getting us to help so she has potential alibis and people on her side to defend her." Mo explained.  
"Great - so none of _you_ trust me either!" Jody said, walking into the room. Bailey, Tyler and Mo exchanged glances.  
"We're just looking into the different options." Mo lied.  
"Of course you are." Jody said, turning to Tyler and looking him dead in the eye. "Best friends forever - I don't think so."  
"Jody, wait, I don't think it's you." Tyler said, leaving after Jody. But seeing she was upset, he made the decision to talk to her later.  
"That was harsh." Bailey commented. Tyler rolled his eyes.  
"Look what you've done!" He exclaimed.  
"I'm sorry, how was I supposed to know she was eavesdropping." Bailey said.  
"I'll talk to her later, but right now, we've got a mystery to solve." Tyler said, sitting down on the bed.  
"Hey guys, look at this." Mo said curiously, playing the footage of Jody and the letters.  
"What?" Bailey asked.  
"You have to look closely. Right in between where the letters are fine and Jody standing in front of them." Mo explained.  
"There was a jump!" Tyler exclaimed.  
"Exactly - so know we have two possibilities; Jody cut herself out of the footage, or somebody else cut themselves out the footage and kept the footage of Jody checking the letters were ruined to frame her." Mo explained.  
"Jody definitely wasn't gone long enough to edit out any footage from the camera - plus I don't think she'd know how." Tyler told Mo and Bailey.  
"Right, so Jody's been framed." Mo said.  
"We need to show Mike; clear Jody's name, and then she'll forgive us." Tyler said, and with that the three boys headed down to the office.

* * *

"I'm sorry guys, but I think there was just a malfunction with the camera. Probably was left running for too long so stopped recording, but then someone started it again just before Jody went in." Mike explained to the boys.  
"Why would someone start up the camera again though?" Mo asked.  
"Probably wanted to find out who's been sabotaging Christmas - that was the purpose of the video, right?" Mike asked.  
"Yeah, but we didn't tell anyone what we were doing."  
"They probably worked it out." Mike said.  
"Mike, someone's framing Jody. I know she's not feeling too festive just yet, but I know my friend, and she would never do anything like this." Tyler explained.  
"Did you expect her to take everyone's things only a couple of weeks ago?" Mike asked.  
"No, but she had good intentions, she was going to give everything back, and she's working so hard to pay for the damage." Tyler pointed out.  
"Look Tyler, I know you and Jody are very close, all of you in fact, but this time, you're just going to have to get your heads around the fact that Jody's guilty." Mike told the boys, who groaned and left the office. But something caught their eye on the way out.  
"My presents!" Mo cried, rushing towards the newly decorated Christmas tree to find that all of the presents that he had worked hard carefully selecting and wrapping (very neatly) were left unwrapped to reveal what was inside.  
"Wait, mine are ruined too!" Tyler exclaimed, also noticing that his presents were destroyed "And Bailey's!"  
"What?" Bailey cried angrily.  
"Why have only _our_ presents been ruined?" Mo asked, scooping up a few of his gifts whilst also trying to hide the ones he had bought for Tyler and Bailey.  
"What do you mean?" Kazima asked, entering the living room.  
"Whoever's been sabotaging Christmas has gone after our presents! You didn't see what I got you, did you?" Mo said frantically.  
"No, but why would Jody go after you three? Aren't you the ones trying to clear her name?" Kazima asked.  
"For the last time Jody isn't behind this!" Tyler exclaimed.  
"That's not what everyone heard yesterday." Kazima said. The boys were silent as they remembered the day before, and how everyone had been eavesdropping on them showing Mike the video footage of what turned out to be Jody, even though it was Ryan they had in mind to appear on the camera.  
"We're still trying to get to the bottom of that." Tyler told Kazima, when Floss appeared in the doorway and noticed the destroyed presents on the floor.  
"Mike, Jody broke some presents!" Floss called.  
"Floss!" Tyler cried.  
"What?" The younger girl frowned. Suddenly, the living room filled with the other residents, including Jody herself, and Mike.  
"Jody?" Mike asked.  
"I don't know anything about this.  
"Yeah - well we do. Jody was angry at us this morning because we thought that it was her behind this. She heard and got upset, and now all of our presents our ruined." Bailey explained. All eyes were fixed on Jody.  
"I _knew_ you didn't trust me!" Jody yelled at Mo, Bailey and Tyler.  
"Jody, is that true?" Mike asked sternly.  
"Yeah, but why would I destroy the presents they prepared?" Jody asked.  
"Because you were angry." Bailey said.  
"Jody?" Mike asked again.  
"Since you all want to hear it, then fine. It was me all along." Jody said.  
"Jody; don't." Tyler said.  
"I've been ruining everyone's Christmas because I haven't been feeling very Christmassy this year, and I thought by destroying some of it, I would feel better. I didn't want to come forwards because only two weeks ago everybody hated me, and I didn't want to go through it again. But since everyone _already_ seems to hate me, I may as well come forwards." Jody explained.  
"Jody what are you doing? You know you've done nothing wrong!" Tyler whispered to Jody as she followed Mike into the office.  
"Save it Tyler - you believe it was me just like everybody else." Jody said angrily, before entering the office to face the consequences.

* * *

 **Hi everyone! I'm sorry this took two weeks to update, but happy new year! I've been busy with my coursework, which is why I haven't had much time available to write, but it's here now! I'm so sorry that Christmas is over, and that this is so undated (is that the right word?) but there's only three chapters left now. Will they ever catch the culprit? And what's been going on with Jody? I know that so far we haven't really touched on why Jody was os miserable in the first place, but that's my intention for the next two chapter, along with revealing the culprit.**

 **Thanks for reading! Please review!**

 **~ Fanatic1234 x**


	6. Catching The Culprit (Again!)

"I can't believe this!" Tyler exclaimed angrily, pacing about his room whilst Mo and Bailey sat on his bed.  
"What?" Mo asked.  
"Jody coming forwards like that - she's done nothing wrong! And now she has to do everyone's chores for a month!" Tyler explained to the other two.  
"Good, she deserves it for all the trouble she's caused." Bailey said.  
"Seriously! If you're convinced that Jody's behind all this then you may as well stop helping us prove her innocence." Tyler told Bailey, who simply sighed and left.  
"Right, Mo, what should we do now?" Tyler asked. Mo looked thoughtful for a moment.  
"I've got it. We'll set up the camera again, but this time we'll make sure it's super discreet so no one notices it. We'll get the younger ones to make a Christmas card for Mike and May-Li. Once again we'll leave it on the table for Ryan, who we know is the real culprit, to destroy it." Mo explained.  
"Good plan. Let's get everything ready." Tyler said, and him and Mo left Tyler's bedroom.

* * *

"Guys, we've had an idea." Tyler said, entering the living room where Floss, Archie, Finn, Joseph and the twins were watching TV.  
"What is it?" Finn asked.  
"Why don't you guys make a Christmas card for Mike and May-Li, I'm sure they'll love that. Especially since your letters to Santa got ruined" Mo suggested to the younger kids.  
"Yeah!" The twins chorused, and the kids gathered the necessary equipment; cards, pens, stickers etc. Now all they had to do was wait. About an hour later, the card was finally done.  
"I'm just popping out to the shops guys, anyone wanna come?" May-Li asked poking her head round the living room door. The younger kids scrambled to hide their card.  
"No thanks May-Li." Floss said, as the little ones got engrossed with the TV.  
"Alright - come on then Ryan, let's go." The kids in the living room heard May-Li say, as she headed for the door.  
"We'll put this on the kitchen table for you, so when Mike and May-Li set up for dinner, they see it and it's a surprise." Tyler told the younger children.  
"Yeah, good idea." Joseph agreed. So Tyler and Mo left with the card, which they then set on the kitchen table.  
"Got the camera set up Tyler?" Mo asked, as he noticed Tyler fiddling with the camera, which he'd placed on a higher cabinet than last time. He had also tucked it slightly behind a photograph.  
"Yep, let's let everyone know that the card's in the kitchen." Tyler said, as him and Mo left the kitchen. They headed upstairs, where they knew Ryan would be in his room.  
"That card Floss, Joseph, Archie, Finn and the twins made is so sweet." Mo said loudly, as they reached the upstairs area.  
"I know, Mike and May-Li will love it when they see it as they set up for dinner in the kitchen later." Tyler replied, also loudly. The boys high-5ed, before going to wait for their response in Mo's room.  
"How long do you think he'll take?" Tyler asked.  
"Give it half an hour that should be plenty." Mo suggested. So half an hour later, the boys went down to the kitchen to check on the camera. On the way to the kitchen, they boys bumped into Jody, who was busy hoovering in the hallway.  
"Jody, are you okay?" Tyler asked, as Jody switched off the hoover, realising she was being spoken to.  
"It's not like _you_ care." Jody snapped.  
"I do, honestly. Mo and I are still trying to catch Ryan in the act." Tyler said. Jody sighed.  
"Look, what's going on? It's two days before Christmas Eve, and you're still miserable." Tyler asked in concern.  
"Yeah, I'm _so_ happy that I'm doing everyone's chores; even on Christmas Day." Jody said sarcastically.  
"Okay, fair enough, but..."  
"Tyler, we have a problem." Mo said, entering the hallway, camera in hand.  
"What?" Tyler asked.  
"The card's been destroyed, but the camera, it's dead." Mo told Tyler regretfully.  
"Well quickly, plug it in!" Tyler exclaimed, as Mo began to run upstairs.  
"You coming Jodes?" Tyler asked, but Jody just shook her head and turned the hoover back on. Tyler followed Mo up the stairs where he had just plugged in the camera. A few minutes later, the screen lit up as the camera turned on. Mo checked the footage they'd been able to catch; virtually nothing. The camera had died before anyone could be caught destroying the card.  
"Now what!" Tyler cried exasperatedly.  
"I have no idea." Mo sighed. Then there were a few minutes of silence before everyone was called for dinner. May-Li had just arrived home from shopping. After dinner, Tyler and Mo gave their mission a bit of a break and joined everyone in the living room for a Christmassy film before bed. But at 1am, Mo jolted awake. He had remembered something important, that could only make the mission more complicated. He headed to Tyler's room.  
"What?" Tyler mumbled, slightly annoyed, as Mo woke him up.  
"I've just remembered something important Tyler, and you're not gonna like it." Mo told Tyler.  
"What is it?" Tyler asked. Mo bit his lip.  
"It's Ryan; he was out with May-Li when the card was ruined. He has an alibi."

* * *

 **Hey everyone! Sorry this took so long (again!), but there's only two more chapters. Again, I know how outdated this is, with Christmas having been a month ago now, but I love this story, so I wanna finish it's! I'm sorry if chapter was a little short, but my plans for this chapter were short, and I got what I wanted to get in the chapter, even if it was a bit vague! Anyway, hope you've all been watching TDG series 5! I'm so upset that Mo and Nailey have gone though, and they're two of the main characters in this story! I'm glad they got a happy ending though! And Yans stirring the pot again, like normal, I'm sure there'll be plenty more of that! I'm looking forwards to an episode focus sing on Chloe next week, as I feel we don't know as much about her. I also liked the insight to Joseph's interests in the most recent episode; I feel like I know his character a lot better now. Anyone, TDG series 5 rant over. Also I read on Wikipedia that TDG is going up to series 7 - does anyone know if that's true as I know Wikipedia isn't always the most reliable source! It's been a while since I wrote a super long AN, I know it wouldn't last!**

 **Thanks for reading! See you soon and please review! Lottery will continue as soon as this story is finished!**

 **~ Fanatic1234 X**


	7. Nowhere To Hide

"Well this throws a spanner in the works; if Ryan hasn't been out to ruin Christmas, who has?" Tyler asked in frustration whilst pacing the floor in his bedroom. Jody had already been incriminated many times, and Ryan's alibi put her in the worst position ever.  
"I don't know." Mo sighed. "But I hate to say it Tyler, but once you remove Ryan from the list of suspects, the only suspicious person we have left is Jody."  
"No way! Jody may be struggling to get into the Christmas spirit this year, but she wouldn't spoil the fun for everyone else - she's not selfish." Tyler said defensively.  
"I'm sorry Tyler, but can you think of anyone else it could be?" Mo asked.  
"What about Archie - he was one of the four people inside when the lights were switched off, and he's new around here; he might be trying to make a statement." Tyler suggested.  
"Archie helped to make the card for Mike and May-Li, and he wrote a letter to Santa, both of which got destroyed. It can't be him." Mo explained.  
"Well...what about Sasha? She used to be pretty reckless before she came here - what if she's getting back into her old ways?" Tyler pointed out.  
"Sasha's changed - plus she was outside when the lights were switched off. Face it, our only suspects are Finn, Archie, Ryan and Jody, since they were all inside when the lights were switched off. Finn and Ryan both had things destroyed, and Ryan has an alibi. Who does that leave." Mo said.  
"I'm still not believing it! Someone must have found another way to get those lights off - maybe there's a switch outside?" Tyler suggested.  
"There is, but surely we would've noticed someone messing about with the lights outside the house. I think it's time that we face the fact that we've hit a brick wall. The only person it can be is Jody." Mo explained.  
"Well I still don't believe it. And if you're so convinced it was Jody, you can work by yourself trying to prove it." Tyler said in annoyance.  
"Fine, but I'm pretty sure all the proof I need is on the camera." Mo said, before leaving Tyler's room. Tyler continued to pace in thought before he saw a figure in the doorway.  
"Finally come to your senses, Mo." He said, but as he looked up, he saw that it wasn't Mo at his door. It was Jody.  
"I heard you sticking up for me. Thanks." She said.  
"No problem, what are friends for." Tyler smiled, and Jody smiled back; the first time Tyler had seen her smile ever since the Christmas scenario started.  
"So, what are we going to do to prove I'm not behind all this?" Jody asked thoughtfully.  
"Well, we've used the younger ones as our minions more than enough times." Tyler pointed out.  
"Yeah...what about the Christmas cake that May-Li picked up earlier?" Jody said deviously.  
"Yeah, that could work." Tyler agreed.  
"So, what's the plan?" Jody asked.  
"Well, we'll set the cake up in the fridge, in plain sight of everyone, then we'll make sure that everyone knows it's there. We'll hide under the kitchen table with the camera, filming everything, and then boom! Christmas destroyer caught!" Tyler explained.  
"Nice!" Jody exclaimed, high-5ing Tyler, before the pair left Tyler's room to set up their plan.

* * *

"I wish we were allowed to have that cake a couple of days early." Jody said, as she and Tyler entered the living room, where most of the residents were watching TV.  
"Well, it's only two days until Christmas, you can have it then! For now it's just gonna have to sit in fridge waiting to be eaten. Anyway, wanna play football in the garden?" Tyler asked.  
"Sure." Jody shrugged, as the pair headed through the kitchen. Instead of going outside though, they sat in wait under the kitchen table. Tyler pulled the camera from his pocket, ready to begin filming if anyone entered the kitchen.  
"I guess now we wait." Jody said.  
"Yeah." Tyler agreed, and then there was silence.  
"So, are you a bit more excited for Christmas, now that we're getting your name cleared?" Tyler asked.  
"Well, I guess a little bit. But it's not about that." Jody answered.  
"What is it about then?" Tyler questioned.  
"Nothing. There's not a reason. I guess I'm just growing up." Jody said.  
"Yeah, fair enough." Tyler said, although not really believing his friend.  
"You're gonna love your present!" Jody told Tyler.  
"You're gonna love yours! Good thing I hadn't wrapped it yet and it was in my room when all my presents got ruined." Tyler said.  
"Sorry your presents got ruined. Whoever did this didn't actually destroy the presents, did they?" Jody asked.  
"No, but they unwrapped pretty much all of them, which still took a long time. Plus when everyone suddenly came in they probably saw their presents."  
"I can help you re-wrap them later, if you want." Jody offered.  
"Only if you don't mind - I did a few last night, but I hate wrapping so I stopped." Tyler said.  
"You're not very good at it either!" Jody teased.  
"Good point." Tyler smiled.  
"Ssh, someone's coming!" Jody cried, and Tyler started up the camera ready to film the culprit. Jody and Tyler shared a shocked and confused look, as the person began to destroy the cake, leaving behind a pile of mushed up cake and icing. Tyler stopped the video, which had actually recorded this time, as him and Jody shared a look, before getting up from under the kitchen table.  
"Got you!" Tyler cried. The person looked shocked and scared, as Tyler and Jody stood before them, a look of relief on Jody's face whilst Tyler smiled.  
"There's no where to turn, Chloe, we've caught you this time."

* * *

 **Hi guys - only one chapter left of this story! Yesterday's new episode of The Dumping Ground inspired me to update, as it was about Jody and Tyler (check it out if you haven't seen it yet). I really enjoyed the episode, as I have with all the other episodes of series 5! I'm still trying to work out if I like Jody and Tyler as a coule coz I thought I did but I also love their friendship, let me know what you think in the reviews. I hope to finish this story very soon, as there is only one chapter left, then I PROMISE I will update Lottery since I haven't for like a YEAR! Please review coz they always make me happy. And I'll see you all soon! Thanks again for reading!**

 **~ Fanatic1234**


	8. The Finale

"Okay, okay, it was all me." Chloe admitted guiltily. Everyone was stood before her after hearing that she'd been caught.  
"You destroyed Kaz's mince pies?" Mike asked.  
"When Jody left the kitchen, I came in and turned the timer up to make sure they got burned." Chloe explained.  
"And the lights?" May-Li asked.  
"I worked out how to put the power supply on a timer. I had a feeling Jody would go inside not too long after the lights were switched on, so I made sure that they would go off then to frame her." Chloe said.  
"What about the Christmas tree, and Tyler, Mo and Bailey's presents?" Mike questioned.  
"I did the Christmas tree during the early hours of the morning, and I overheard Jody fall out with Mo, Bailey and Tyler, so decided to destroy their presents to frame her even more." Chloe told Mike.  
"What about the letters to Santa and the card that was made for May-Li and I?" Mike asked.  
"Well, I guess I got lucky with the card, as I didn't even see the camera, but with the letters, I worked out how to pause the footage. So I paused the recording before I destroyed the letters, then turned it back on again when I heard that Jody was coming down, so then I hid in the hallway by the garden, and when Jody left again, I stopped the recording." Chloe explained.  
"And the cake?" May-Li asked.  
"Well, you can watch that on the camera; Jody and Tyler were filming me." Chloe said.  
"Why did you do all this Chloe? And why did you want to frame me?" Jody asked angrily.  
"I'm really sorry Jody. I was never going to frame you, but everyone jumped to the conclusion that it was you, so I went with it." Chloe said.  
"And you tried to ruin Christmas because?" Tyler asked.  
"It's silly, but Ryan hates Christmas." Chloe turned to face her brother. "I feel bad that we've been arguing. I thought that if I destroyed Christmas, you'd be happy and we could make up."  
"That was thoughtful of you Chloe, but you didn't have to do this." Ryan smiled.  
"So, can we call it quits?" Chloe asked hopefully.  
"Sure." Ryan said, leaning down to hug his sister.  
"Chloe, after Christmas you'll be grounded for a month. Thank goodness we got to the bottom of everything before Christmas Eve tomorrow!" Mike exclaimed, as everyone cheered and began to part their separate ways.  
"Er, hold on a sed." Tyler said. Jody frowned at him as everyone turned to face him. "I believe we all owe Jody an apology, since you lot were all so quick to think it was her."  
"Yeah, good point. I'm sorry Jody, I should've stuck with Tyler and tried to help you." Mo said.  
"Me too." Bailey agreed.  
"It's okay; it's Christmas - a time for forgiveness." Jody said. Everyone else apologised to Jody for jumping to the wrong conclusion before leaving the kitchen, leaving Jody and Tyler alone.  
"Glad we got that sorted!" Jody exclaimed, taking a seat at the kitchen table.  
"Yeah. I'm sorry that I didn't stick up for you at first. I was just confused as to why you're not festive." Tyler said, taking a seat opposite Jody at the table.  
"It's okay, we found out what happened, didn't we. And that was all down to you." Jody pointed out.  
"You helped." Tyler said, before there was a shirt silence.  
"I guess I owe you an explanation as to why I've been in a bad mood for the past few days." Jody said, looking down at the table.  
"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to. I haven't meant to be getting at you, I just hate seeing you upset." Tyler explained.  
"It's fine. I just got my hopes up too much, which led to disaster." Jody said sadly. Tyler frowned.  
"Is this about Kingsley?" He asked. Jody nodded.  
"I was just hoping that him and I could spend Christmas together. With mum and Luke. The first Christmas as a family since...forever. But I was wrong." Jody explained. Tyler gave her a sympathetic look.  
"I'm sorry it didn't work out with Kingsley. But then again it was his fault that you got trapped in a burning flat." Tyler pointed out.  
"True. I don't know if I ever said thank you for saving me on that day. I could've died it it wasn't for you, Tyler." Jody said.  
"Coz I was just gonna leave you in there to burn!" Tyler exclaimed sarcastically.  
"So, what do you think Mike's got planned for Christmas at the Dumping Ground, then?" Jody asked.  
"No idea. I guess there'll be the usual feast, crackers, charades and movies." Tyler said. "I'm looking forward to it!"  
"I thought you were spending Christmas with your mum?" Jody frowned.  
"I was. But I'm gonna call her later and say I'm staying here. You'll be all on your own otherwise!" Tyler explained.  
"I do _have_ other friends you know!" Jody teased.  
"Of course, but they don't know what you just told me. You should get the perfect Christmas you deserve, with or without your family, and I want to make sure that happens." Tyler said.  
"Well, thanks, but I don't want to upset your mum - she's been looking forward to spending Christmas with you since September!" Jody pointed out.  
"Yeah, but she should understand, right?" Tyler asked.  
"I can't help but overhear." Mike said, entering the kitchen. "But, if you want to see your mum on Christmas Day, _and_ stay here with Jody, then why don't we arrange for your mum to come here. There'll be an extra space since Mo's going to his parents." Mike suggested. Jody and Tyler shared a look.  
"Would everyone else mind?" Tyler asked.  
"They seemed to like her last time." Mike pointed out.  
"Okay then, that would be great, thanks Mike!" Tyler said.  
"Great, I'll go and give your mum a call." Mike said, before turning to leave the kitchen.  
"Result! Now I can stay here with you, _and_ see mum - this is going to be the best Christmas ever!" Tyler smiled.  
"Yeah, I agree." Jody said.  
"I'm guessing you've finally got into the Christmas spirit?" Tyler asked.  
"Yeah - being here with friends is going to be way better than spending Christmas with my family anyway!" Jody said.

* * *

And she was right. Everyone had the best Christmas ever that year! Ryan and Chloe were no longer fighting, everyone got to know the new residents, Archie and Joseph, a bit better, and overall everyone got on pretty well. The only thing that puzzled everyone was that Mo never came back...

* * *

 **So, complete plot twist and it was Chloe after all! Thanks everyone for reading this story,named I hope you like the ending, and now that this is done, Lottery should be back on track pretty soon! Please let me know if you liked the ending, and perhaps give me some requests for other things you want to see from me. It could be one-shots, or a short story, but nothing long-term, since Lottery is my long term story, but something to work on when I'be done a lot of writing of Lottery and need a break! So let me know about that! If you'd rather PM me with your ideas my inbox is always open!**

 **Thanks again for reading, and I hope that I'll have some Lottery for you soon!**

 **~ Fanatic1234**


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